Berger 1998: III, 191. Borrowed from Urdu har. This is the most frequent of all the attested equivalents for 'all' in Burushaski; there are several others as well, but most are identifiable as borrowings. Cf. kul 'all, together' [Berger 1998: III, 246] (< Urdu kull, ultimately from Arabic). An original stem may be preserved in =yˈoon 'all, together' [Berger 1998: III, 477], but it is mainly used in conjunction with pronominal forms ('all of us', 'all of you', 'all of them'). This form is listed as the main equivalent for 'all' in [Backstrom 1992: 258]: Hunza, Nagar uyˈoon.

Number: 2

Word:ashes

Yasin Burushaski:pʰˈet-iŋ 1

Berger 1974: 170. Y-class; plurale tantum (-iŋ is the regular plural marker of the y-class). Distinct from the more specialized term ʂapʰˈeru 'ashes or other sorts of fertilizers for vegetables' [Berger 1974: 179], borrowed from Khowar. Quoted as pʰˈɛtiŋ in [Backstrom 1992: 248].

Not attested. The closest word in meaning is probably ɕʰˈumuʂ ~ ɕʰˈumurʂ (Nagar ɕʰˈumur) 'coarse bark that is used to feed the fire' [Berger 1998: III, 101], which Berger derives from the verb ɕʰamˈur- 'to crumble, crumple' [Berger 1998: III, 96]; there are, however, no indications that this could be the neutral, non-specialized term for 'tree bark' in general as well.

Berger 1998: III, 107. Plural form: c̢ʰˈiu. Meaning glossed as '(small) bird'. The equivalent for 'large bird' is balˈas (Nagar balˈac) [Berger 1998: III, 33] (plural forms are either the same as sg. or Hunza balˈas-ʆo, Nagar balˈas-iʆo), which Berger believes to be cognate with du=wˈal- 'to fly' q.v. (the development of *-b- > -w- in the intervocalic position is normal). Another candidate is parindˈa 'bird', borrowed from Urdu [Berger 1998: III, 312]; this could be a generic term for 'bird' irrespective of size, but it seems less basic than the other two terms.

Berger 1998: III, 214. Present tense stem: =iˈr-ɕ-. Altogether, Berger's dictionary adduces more than a dozen (!) possible equivalents for the meaning 'to die', which indicates the strong tendency of this word to be replaced by euphemisms. All of these verbs and idiomatic expressions, however, either have a clearly different original meaning (e. g. 'to go'), or are borrowed from neighboring languages. Quoted as Hunza, Nagar i=ˈir-imi 'he died' in [Backstrom 1992: 259].

Berger 1974: 135. Both forms are derived from the verbal stem bˈu- 'to be dry, to dry up' [ibid.]. Another phonetically similar form with a not nearly as transparent derivational pattern is bˈei 'dry' [Berger 1974: 133]. Finally, an entirely different synonym, also in the meaning 'dry' (as well as 'thirsty'), is listed as qaq in [Berger 1974: 172]. Comparison with the other dialects, where this word is only attested as 'hungry', shows that in Yasin, its meaning of 'dry' may be a relict archaism. Quoted as bi-yˈʌm in [Backstrom 1992: 254].

Berger 1998: III, 463. Present tense stem: du=wˈal-ʓ-. Initial du= is a dysfunctional prefix found in many Burushaski verbs. Cf. also the idiomatic expression tar dˈel- ~ tʰar del- 'to fly', literally 'to tar-hit', where tar < Shina tʰar 'to fly'. Quoted as Hunza du=wˈal-ǯibi "(the bird) flies" in [Backstrom 1992: 259]. For Nagar, the same source lists hart as the main equivalent, but this form is listed as hart man- 'to spring up' [Berger 1998: III, 259] and is most likely the result of a semantic inaccuracy (= 'to rise, fly up' rather than 'to fly'?).

Number: 31

Word:foot

Yasin Burushaski:=hˈuʈi-s 1

Berger 1974: 153. Plural form: =hˈuʈi-ŋ.

Hunza Burushaski:=ˈuʈi-s 1

Berger 1998: III, 460. X-class. Plural form: =ˈuʈi-ŋ. The suffix-less form of this stem is also attested: =ˈuʈ 'foot; step' (the simpler form seems to have a more general / abstract meaning than the strictly anatomic term =ˈuʈi-s).

Number: 32

Word:full

Yasin Burushaski:hek 1

Berger 1974: 151.

Hunza Burushaski:hik 1

Berger 1998: III, 198. Cf. also such potential synonyms as: (a) bil ~ bir 'full' [Berger 1998: III, 52] (according to Berger, applied to rivers rather than vessels, and therefore not eligible for inclusion); (b) ʂek 'full' [Berger 1998: III, 407]: semantic difference from hik is unclear - the word could be a borrowing from Shina ʂak 'full', but, apparently, the Shina word itself does not have any internal etymology, so the reverse direction is also possible; (c) trap ~ trup 'whole, full, complete' [Berger 1998: III, 430]. It is impossible to decide whether hek, ʂek, or trap should be considered the "most basic" equivalent for 'full', so, until a more precise semantic description is available, we choose hik as the variant with the best external parallels.

Berger 1974: 176. Present tense stem: =s=qai-. A weakly productive (cf. 'to burn') causative derivation from the verbal root =qan-, which is also found in the intransitive stem du=ʁˈan- 'to become useless; to be tired' [Berger 1974: 147]. Synonym: d=l- 'to hit; to kill; to meet, encounter' [Berger 1974: 161], a verb with a very wide semantic range of application, including grammaticalized functions, and hardly the most basic equivalent for 'kill' in Burushaski.

Berger 1974: 139. Plural form: ɕiʂ-kˈo. Berger defines this word as a borrowing from Shina (Shina čʰĩːʂ 'mountain'), but the Shina word has no reliable Indo-European or even Proto-Dardic etymology; hence, the reverse direction of borrowing is more probable.

Berger 1998: III, 294. Plural form: =mupu-yanc. Berger is probably correct in identifying the first part of this compound as equal with muʆ 'end, edge' [Berger 1998: III, 295], but his attempt to analyze the second part as a reflex of baʈ 'skin' [Berger 1998: III, 44] cannot be taken seriously. Quoted as Hunza i=mˈupuʂ, Nagar i=mˈupʋʂ in [Backstrom 1992: 244].

Number: 62

Word:not

Yasin Burushaski:aˈi- ~ ay- ~ ~ a- 1

Berger 1974: 33, 129. This basic negation functions as a verbal prefix; the fully accented form aˈi- is analyzed by Berger as the default variant, while the others are contracted variants, usually determined by the vocalic onsets of the verbal stem.

Berger 1974: 175. Plural form: ses-ek. The form is glossed in Berger's dictionary under the meaning 'people', whereas the sg. meaning 'man (human being)' corresponds to the Urdu (ultimately Arabic) borrowing aːdˈem [Berger 1974: 129]; cf., however, hen sˈes-en 'one person', indicating that the root ses- is clearly usable in the sg. number as well.

Hunza Burushaski:sis 1

Berger 1998: III, 380. This h-class form generally has a collective meaning ('people'); the singular sˈis-an 'man, person' is formed from the same root. Several other words are also attested in the dictionary with the meaning 'person', all of them borrowings: bandˈa [Berger 1998: III, 36] (from Urdu), insˈaan [Berger 1998: III, 214] (from Urdu, ultimately from Arabic). It is not clear which of these words has a more "basic" function in modern dialects.

Berger 1974: 175. Present tense stem: sˈi-. The meaning 'say' is also specified for the monoconsonantal verbal root =t- [Berger 1974: 179], but it is really quite semantically diffuse, and its primary meaning seems to be 'to do, to make', so it is hardly eligible as the basic equivalent for 'say'.

Berger 1998: III, 477. Present tense stem: =yeˈeʆ-. (In Nagar, cf. also the root variant yoˈoc- with plural objects of the hx-class). The compound verb kʰˈiil man- [Berger 1998: III, 254] is also glossed as 'to see', but this is only one of the glossed meanings: the more accurate glossing is 'to look, observe, show'.

Not attested. For some reason, Berger's dictionary only lists such words as gap '(raw) animal hide' [Berger 1974: 144] and baʈ 'pelt; leather' [Berger 1974: 133]; it is not clear if either of them is applicable to humans. In [Backstrom 1992: 245], bʌʈ is listed as the basic equivalent for 'skin'.

Berger 1974: 141. Dubious. The form daŋ (according to Berger, borrowed from Khowar) is in itself a noun ('sleep'), but may be employed in certain idiomatic constructions, e. g. daŋ ducˈu- 'to fall asleep' (literally = 'to bring sleep'). However, the static meaning 'to be asleep' is not attested as such in the dictionary. See also notes on 'to lie'.

Hunza Burushaski:guɕʰˈa- 2

Berger 1998: III, 158. Same verb as 'to lie' q.v. (its perfective forms are used to denote the meaning 'to sleep'). The nominal stem daŋ 'sleep' [Berger 1998: III, 114] is used in various idiomatic expressions ('to be sleepy', 'sleepless', 'to go to sleep'), but not in the meaning 'to sleep' as such.

Number: 77

Word:small

Yasin Burushaski:=ɕuɣun 1

Berger 1974: 139. Quoted as ˈɛ=čoɣʋn in [Backstrom 1992: 255]. Cf. also ɕˈiki 'small' [Berger 1974: 139] (the difference between this word and =ɕuʁun is unclear, but it is only the latter form that is recognized as a suitable equivalent for 'small' by Backstrom as well). Cf. also pʰuk, glossed as 'a little (wood), a small (person)' [Berger 1974: 171].

Berger 1998: III, 113. Plural form: da-yˈo. Of all the numerous quasi-synonyms for 'stone' listed in [Berger 1998: III, 608], the only one exclusively translated as 'stone' in the main body of the dictionary is handˈo [Berger 1998: III, 189], which Berger tentatively deduces from *handayˈo < pl. form of han dan 'one stone'. Quoted as Hunza, Nagar dʌn in [Backstrom 1992: 247].

Berger 1998: III, 418. This is actually the main lexical morpheme in the compound expression tam dˈel- 'to wash, bathe, swim', where the meaning 'to swim' may be primary (cf. an analogous situation for the verb 'to fly'). Berger suggests borrowing from Shina tam, which is possible in the light of this form not representing a primary verbal stem; however, the Shina form itself lacks a proper etymology, and the ultimate direction of borrowing remains unclear.

Berger 1974: 24. Distal deixis forms of the pronoun 'that' also function in Yasin as 3rd p. personal pronouns. The forms show numerous variants depending on the agreement class: cf. ne ~ in (hm-class sg.), mo ~ in (hf-class sg.), se ~ os (x-class sg.), te ~ ot (y-class sg.), we ~ u (hm/hf-class pl.), ce ~ oc (x-class pl.), ke ~ ok (x-class pl.). These all seem to be combinations of one or two monovocalic pronominal morphemes with various monoconsonantal class markers: the vowel -e, in particular, is segmentable from n-e, s-e, t-e etc., as one of these pronominal morphemes, but it is also present in the near deixis pronominal forms ('this') as well and is therefore not diagnostic of the meaning 'that'. The meaning in question is actually represented by the allomorphs i- ~ o- (in the VC-type forms) and the zero allomorph (in the CV-type forms); dialectal evidence suggests that i- is the primary allomorph. Quoted as sɛ in [Backstrom 1992: 257].

Berger 1974: 24. Quoted as uŋ in Lorimer's earlier data. A different morpheme is represented by the pronominal possessive prefix gu- [Berger 1974: 25], cf. also the genitive form go. Quoted as un in [Backstrom 1992: 260].

Berger 1974: 137. This is the suppletive past tense stem. Still another suppletive form, used for the rest of the paradigm, is nˈe-; a detailed description is available in [Berger 1974: 36]. Quoted as nɛʰ 'go!' (imperative) in [Backstrom 1992: 259].

Berger 1998: III, 82-83. Plural form is the same as the singular or with an additional suffix: mˈe-n-ik. Cf. the interrogative adjective 'what? which? what kind of?', formed from the same root: ˈa=mi-n (hm-class sg.), ˈa=mi-s (x-class sg.), ˈa=mi-t (y-class), etc. [ibid.]. Quoted as Hunza mˈɛnʌn, Nagar mˈɛnɛn in [Backstrom 1992: 257].

Berger 1998: III, 257. Supposedly borrowed from Shina kʰˈuʈ-o. Quoted as Hunza, Nagar kʰuʈ in [Backstrom 1992: 254]. The same source also lists čʰʌʈ 'short' as a synonym, but this word really means 'short of stature' (ɕʰaʈ in [Berger 1998: III, 99; see notes on Yasin).

Number:106

Word:snake

Yasin Burushaski:tul 1

Berger 1974: 182. Plural form: tul-ˈanc ~ tul-iˈanc. The word ʁusˈan-um 'long' q.v. can also be used in the meaning 'snake' (although this is probably not the basic equivalent for this meaning). Quoted as tul in [Backstrom 1992: 251].

Hunza Burushaski:tol 1

Berger 1998: III, 428. Plural form: tˈol-ʓo. The word ʁusˈan-us [Berger 1998: III, 181], with the same root as in ʁusˈan-um 'long' q.v., can also be used in the meaning 'snake' (although this is probably not the basic equivalent for this meaning). Quoted as Hunza, Nagar tol in [Backstrom 1992: 251].